love letters from the (still) single bridesmaid who is now (proudly) 30-years-young There is a lot of polarity in the world, but I think one thing we can ALL agree on is that 2020 is a WILD RIDE. I was looking back through my photos and blog and completely forgot that I wrote these letters … More love letters from the single bridesmaid – quarantine edition

Anyone else love doing weird things with math? Life can be unpredictable and short… but what if life can get to be long, too? I’m 30 right now and I actually really *ucking love it 😍🤩 I kind of don’t want to turn 31! 😂 What if I get to live to 60, or even … More time remaining

I am the storm. And I am the calm before, during, and after it, too. Since I was a little kid, I have always been easily excitable. I am also able to remain extremely calm amidst chaos. When work gets crazy and stressful, it somehow activates a switch in me – I sink in deeper, … More Chaos and Calm As Dance Partners

This is a defining moment in our collective psyche. COVID-19 and these coming weeks and months (… years!?) are part of history. YOUR personal living history. And it’s still unfolding. The world, the universe, and the human race will never be the same. Sometimes this terrifies me. Right now, it excites me and lights a … More What Is Normal, Anyway?

I’m doing the free 30-Day guided journey with Amber Rae to #JournalYourFeelings. Join me by clicking the link! Below is day 2’s prompt typed up so you don’t have to read my chicken scratch. Hey, Uncertainty, it’s me, Niki. You’re safe and welcome here. I’m here to listen. What are you trying to tell me? … More What “Uncertainty” Is Trying to Tell Me

In these days after my first meet, I’ve been basking in this high and reflecting on my experiences. Like I did after my first backpacking trip, I wanted to document and capture some details while these experiences are still fresh in my mind. This is the second section of a two-part blog series. In part … More Olympic Weightlifting As A Way to Know Yourself

This weekend I competed in my first olympic weight lifting “meet” or competition. I would like to share some thoughts about the sport, my experiences through it, and how to apply the lessons to other areas of life. I wrote a pretty lengthy post after my first backpacking trip to document my experiences, and I … More First Olympic Weightlifting Meet: A Reflection

Whether or not I am aware of it, the timing of my life is perfect. I was driving to work tonight when I thought I saw some green lights in the sky out of the corner of my eye. It was very reminiscent of the shade of the Northern Lights in Iceland, and I thought, … More timing

a series of letters from a single gal about to turn 30 Needed a picture for this post and thought I’d share some from the two times I was a bridesmaid.  Both times I was single.  Once for my best friend from pharmacy school, and once for one of my best friends from high school. … More love notes from the single bridesmaid

Live and learn, right? I remember the first major hike I did on July 4th during my 2nd year of grad school: Upper Yosemite Falls with some of my closest friends and classmates. We actually wanted to do Half Dome, but none of us knew that we needed a permit to do that, and we … More gear list/beginning backpacking